Assembly guide

Full horizontal Murphy bed

Every part arrives cut, edged, finished and drilled, with the face built and the connectors set. You put it together, fix it to the wall and balance it. A horizontal bed lies on its side and folds down sideways. The steps are the same for every door style.

Cabinet: 80-7/8" wide × 60-7/16" tall × 15-7/8" deep
Open: reaches 61" from the wall
Mattress: 54" × 75", up to 12" thick
People: two adults

Start building

Part 1

Before you start

Step 1. Read this first

A Murphy bed lifts on two gas springs that hold a lot of stored force, and once the bed is down it pulls on the cabinet with all of it. Built in the order below it is a calm job. Skip a step and it is not.

Two adults, start to finish. Several steps need one person to hold the cabinet while the other works.
Never open the bed until the cabinet is screwed to the wall studs (Step 21). An unanchored cabinet tips forward when the bed comes down.
Keep fingers out of the pivots and away from the springs while the bed is moving.
Never take a spring off with the bed open. The way to change one is at the end of this guide.
Children should not play on the bed or in the cabinet, open or shut.

TipRead the whole guide once before you open a box. It takes ten minutes and saves an hour.

Done

Step 2. Check what arrived

Your bed comes on one pallet: a carton of panels, a carton with the bed face, the mechanism in its own box and our hardware bag. Look at every box before you sign for the delivery, and write any damage on the driver's receipt. Then open the cartons on a clean floor and find each part below. Every part is cut, edged, finished and drilled; there is nothing to cut and almost nothing to drill.

Part	Qty	Size	How to spot it
Cabinet sides	2	60-7/16" × 15-7/8"	The tall panels. Drilled for the mechanism on the inside face.
Headboard	1	79-7/16" × 15-7/8"	Stands between the cabinet sides, 15" up.
Header board	1	79-7/16" × 15-3/16"	The top of the cabinet.
Header front rail	1	79-7/16" × 2"	Across the top front.
Support rail	1	79-7/16" × 4"	Under the header at the back. The wall screws go through it.
Bed face	1	79" × 55-11/16"	Comes built: both doors and the strip behind the gap between them.
Side rails	2	55-7/16" × 5-15/16"	One round corner each, at the foot end.
Head rail	1	77" × 5-15/16"	The wide one. Goes at the pivot end.
Foot rail	1	77" × 3"	The narrow one.
Frame sides	2	about 77"	Unfinished poplar sticks.
Frame struts	6	L-shaped	Two poplar sticks already glued into an L.
Mattress supports	2	77" × 27"	Thin 1/4" panels the mattress lies on.
Leg rail	1	75-1/4" × 11/16"	Runs between the two fold-down legs.

The mechanism box

Two gas springs
Two pivots, each a plate with a rod (cabinet side) and a plate with a bushing (bed side), with two plastic spacers and two E-clips
Two lower spring plates (adjustable, with a hex head) and two upper spring plates, with two ball studs and two black ball stud spacers
Two bed stops
Two fold-down legs and two 1/4" × 2" leg rail screws
Two elastic mattress straps
T-nuts with machine screws, silver #12 × 3/4" screws, black #10 × 3/4" screws and #10 × 1-5/8" screws

Our hardware bag

The connector bit
Frame screws: #8 × 1-1/4" and #8 × 2"
Eight #10 × 3" wall screws
Two pulls and their screws

TipThe mechanism box has the maker's own booklets in it. They are written for someone building the whole bed from raw sheets of plywood. Set them aside and follow this guide: everything they ask you to cut, drill or edge is already done.

CheckMissing or damaged part? Stop and call us before you build around it.

Done

Step 3. Tools

Drill/driver with a clutch, and the connector bit from our bag
#2 Phillips driver bit
1/8" drill bit, at least 3" long (pilot holes into the studs)
#4 Allen wrench (hex key)
7/16" socket or nut driver, and a 1/2" wrench
Flat-head screwdriver
Hammer or rubber mallet
Stud finder, tape measure, level and a pencil
Two clamps
A step ladder
A blanket or rug to work on, and a few pieces of cardboard

TipSet the clutch low for the connectors. They pull a joint tight at a gentle setting; driving them hard strips the hole.

Done

Step 4. Get the room ready

Build the bed in the room it will live in, close to its wall. It is easier to carry in as parts than as a finished cabinet.

The cabinet is 80-7/8" wide, 60-7/16" tall and 15-7/8" deep. Open, the bed reaches 61" out from the wall. Keep that floor clear for good, not just today.
You build the bed lying flat, so clear a patch of floor a couple of feet bigger than the cabinet all round.
Find the wall studs where the cabinet will stand and mark them now (Step 21 has the wall types).
The cabinet has to sit flat against the wall top and bottom. Take the baseboard off where the cabinet will stand; you can run it back up to the cabinet sides at the end.
Check the floor with a level. A little out is fine; the gaps get evened up at the end.

Done

Part 2

Build the bed

The bed is built upside down: face on the floor, everything else on its back.

Step 5. Lay the face down and fit the pulls

Spread the blanket and lay the bed face on it, finished side down. The pulls go on now, while the back of the face is clear: push each pull's posts into its two drilled holes from the front, then drive its screws in from the back.

CarefulFrom here until the bed is finished, the face is the show side of your bed lying on the floor. Keep tools and screws off the blanket under it.

Done

The bed face lying finished side down on a blanket.

Step 6. Fit the mechanism to the side rails

Each side rail carries three pieces of the mechanism. Lay a rail flat, inside face up (the face with the round 1" hole and the small 5/8" hole near the round corner). Do one rail, then the other: they are mirror images.

Pivot plate (with the bushing), on the inside face. Push its bushing into the 1" hole and screw the plate down with four silver #12 × 3/4" screws.
Lower spring plate, on the outside face. Its channel sits on the rail's edge, flush with the end of the rail. Tap two T-nuts into the holes from the inside face and screw the plate to them with its machine screws. Turn the hex head until the ball stud sits on 3.
Fold-down leg, on the inside face at the round-corner end. Push the leg's rod into the 5/8" hole with its plate square to the rail. Tap two T-nuts into the lower holes from the outside and screw them to the plate with machine screws, then drive two black #10 × 3/4" screws into the top two holes.

CheckBoth lower plates on 3. That is where a full horizontal bed starts; you fine-tune it once the mattress is on.

Done

The left side rail, inside face toward you, with its pivot plate, lower spring plate and leg fitted.

Lower spring plate: the ball stud starts on 3.

Step 7. Fix the side rails to the face

Stand a side rail on its edge along one long edge of the face, on the back of the face, with the round corner at the foot end and the pivot hardware facing in. The rail has connectors set into its inside face; their screws line up with holes drilled in the back of the face. Drive each connector with the connector bit until the rail pulls down tight. Repeat on the other side.

CheckThe face sticks out 1/4" past each side rail. That is right: it is what closes over the cabinet sides.

Done

The two side rails standing on the back of the face.

Step 8. Fit the head and foot rails

The head rail is the wide one and goes across the pivot end (the back of the bed when it is shut); the foot rail is the narrow one and goes across the round-corner end. Set each between the side rails, ends and bottoms flush, and drive its connectors down into the face and out into the side rails.

Then go back to each lower spring plate and drive its two #10 × 1-5/8" screws through the plate and the side rail into the end of the head rail.

Done

The head and foot rails across the ends.

Step 9. Build the inner frame

The inner frame is what the mattress supports screw down to. Lay a frame side inside each side rail, then the six L-shaped struts across between them, each L standing on its flat leg. Every screw goes into a hole that is already drilled.

Frame sides to the side rails: #8 × 1-1/4" screws.
Struts to the frame sides: #8 × 2" screws, through the frame side into the end of each strut.
Struts to the face: #8 × 1-1/4" screws, down through the flat leg of each strut.
Head and foot rails to the frame: #8 × 1-1/4" screws.

CarefulUse the 1-1/4" screws wherever a screw goes into the face. A longer one comes out the front.

Done

The inner frame: frame sides and struts.

Step 10. Lay the mattress support and straps

Lay the two mattress supports side by side on the frame and screw them down into the frame with #8 × 1-1/4" screws. Do not glue it.

Now the straps. Each one runs across a corner at the foot end, its ends screwed through the mattress support into the frame 16" from the corner along each edge.

Done

The mattress supports laid over the frame.

Step 11. Fit the leg rail and fold the legs

Set the leg rail between the two legs and screw each leg to the rail with a 1/4" × 2" screw into the hole in the end of the rail. Then fold the legs in against the bed, where they stay until the bed is finished.

CarefulThe legs stay folded until the bed is on the wall. A leg left out gets bent when the cabinet is tipped up.

Done

The leg rail between the folded legs.

Part 3

Build the cabinet around it

The cabinet sides go on the bed's pivots while everything is still lying down, then the whole cabinet is tipped up.

Step 12. Fit the mechanism to the cabinet sides

Lay each cabinet side flat, inside face up (the face with the drilled holes and the slot). Mirror images again: do one, then the other.

Pivot plate with the rod. Push the rod into the 5/8" hole near the bottom. Tap two T-nuts into the upper holes from the outside face and screw them to the plate with machine screws, then drive two silver #12 × 3/4" screws into the lower holes.
Upper spring plate. Drop it into the slot, tap its T-nuts in from the outside and screw it down with its machine screws. Thread the ball stud, with its black spacer behind it, into hole 1. Snug, not tight.

Leave the bed stops in the bag. They go on later, from behind.

CheckBoth upper plates on hole 1. Unlike the lower plate, this one is not adjusted later.

Done

The bottom of the left cabinet side, inside face toward you, with its pivot plate and upper spring plate.

Upper spring plate: the ball stud goes in hole 1.

Step 13. Join the cabinet sides to the bed

Lay a cabinet side on its front edge beside the bed (on cardboard, to protect the edge), rod facing in, lined up with the bushing in the side rail.

Slide a plastic spacer onto the rod.
Slide the cabinet side in so the rod goes into the bushing, until there is no gap between the side and the bed.
Snap an E-clip into the groove on the end of the rod. Push it on with a flat-head screwdriver until it seats.

Repeat on the other side.

Done

The cabinet sides lying on their front edges beside the bed.

Each pivot, from the cabinet side in: rod, plastic spacer, bushing, E-clip.

Step 14. Fit the headboard

The headboard bridges the two cabinet sides at the back, 15" up from their bottom ends; the drilled holes put it there. Set it across the back edges of the sides, finished face toward the bed, and drive its connectors into both sides.

CheckMeasure the two sides' bottom ends to the headboard. Both should read 15".

Done

The headboard across the two cabinet sides.

Step 15. Tip the cabinet up

With the bed face still flat on the blanket and the legs folded, one person at each side lifts the top ends of the cabinet sides and walks them up until the cabinet stands on its own bottom ends. The bed stays where it is, flat on the floor, now hanging off the pivots.

CarefulThe cabinet is not braced at the top yet and racks easily. Keep a hand on it until the header is in.

Done

The cabinet standing, the bed flat on the floor in front of it.

Step 16. Fit the header

The header is the top of the cabinet: the header board with its front rail, and the support rail that runs under it at the back.

If the front rail is not already fixed to the header board, set it along the board's front edge and drive the connectors from underneath into the rail.
Set the support rail between the cabinet sides at the top back, its back face flush with the back of the sides, and drive its connectors into both sides.
With your helper, set the header board between the tops of the sides, on top of the support rail, the top of its front rail flush with the tops of the sides. Clamp it and drive the connectors into the sides.
Drive #8 × 2" screws down through the header board into the support rail, into the drilled holes.

Done

The header and support rail across the top of the cabinet.

Part 4

Close it up and fit the springs

Step 17. Move it near the wall

Walk the cabinet to its place but leave it 2 to 3 feet out from the wall, so you can work behind it.

Done

The cabinet a couple of feet out from its wall.

Step 18. Fit the gas springs

Without its springs the bed is heavy and nothing holds it. One person holds the cabinet steady while the other lifts the bed up into it.

Swing the bed up and let it go about 3" past shut, back into the cabinet. (There are no bed stops yet, so it can.)
Read the label on each spring and turn it the way the label says ("this end up").
Snap the spring onto the ball on the bed's side rail first, then onto the ball on the cabinet side. Press each socket straight on until it clicks.
Do the other side the same way.

CarefulThe cabinet is not on the wall yet and is top-heavy. Your helper keeps hold of it the whole time.

Done

Looking in past the right cabinet side: the gas spring runs from the bed's side rail up to the cabinet side.

Step 19. Fit the bed stops

With your helper still holding the cabinet, pull the bed out 4 to 5 inches. Working from behind the cabinet, push each bed stop pin into its 5/16" hole high on the inside of the cabinet side and screw it down with a black #10 × 3/4" screw.

Let the bed come back. It now stops flush with the front of the cabinet.

Done

The bed stops, high on the inside of each cabinet side.

Part 5

Fix it to the wall

The most important step in this guide.

Step 20. Push it back and line it up

Push the cabinet back against the wall, top and bottom touching. Then center the bed in the cabinet: slip a piece of folded cardboard between the face and each cabinet side so the gap is the same both sides.

CheckHold a level against a cabinet side. If the top leans away from the wall, the floor or the baseboard is in the way: sort it out now, not after the screws are in.

Done

The cabinet back against the wall, the bed shut.

Step 21. Screw it to the studs

When the bed comes down it pulls the cabinet toward you. The only thing holding it back is the screws in the support rail, into the wall's framing. Do this step fully before the bed is ever opened.

Wood studs (most homes)

Find the center of each stud behind the cabinet and mark it on the rail.
Drill a 1/8" pilot hole through the support rail into each stud, two to a stud, one high and one low.
Drive our #10 × 3" wall screws until they pull the rail tight to the wall. Use all eight if your cabinet crosses enough studs; never fewer than two in each stud it crosses.

Metal studs

Our wall screws are for wood. In steel studs use 3/16" × 4" toggle bolts (from any hardware store): drill 9/16" through the stud at each pilot hole, push the bolt through the rail and the wings through the stud until they spring open, pull the rail back to hold the wings against the stud and tighten.

Concrete, block or brick

Use 3/16" × 2-1/4" masonry screws: drill through the rail, then 2" into the wall with a 5/32" masonry bit, and drive the screws.

CarefulDrywall or plaster alone will not hold a Murphy bed, whatever anchor you use. If you cannot find framing where the cabinet stands, stop and call us.

CheckPull hard on the top of the cabinet. It should not move at all.

Done

Looking at the back of the cabinet: two screws into every stud through the support rail.

Part 6

Mattress, balance and gaps

Step 22. Put the mattress on

Take the cardboard out. Pull the bed down by its pulls (it will feel light; that is the springs with no mattress), unfold the legs as it comes, and set it on the floor. Lay the mattress on and hook the elastic straps over its foot corners.

The bed takes a 54" × 75" mattress, up to 12" thick including any pillow top. No box spring.

Done

The bed down on its legs with the mattress on.

Step 23. Balance it

A well balanced bed comes down with a gentle pull and goes up with a gentle lift, and stays where it is shut. The lower spring plates set that. Turn the hex head with a 7/16" socket, both sides the same, a half stop at a time.

Hard to pull down, or it wants to spring shut: turn the hex head to the right, toward a smaller number.
The face hangs out of the cabinet when it is shut: also to the right, toward a smaller number.
It drops too fast, or is heavy to lift: turn to the left, toward a larger number.

TipSmall turns make big differences. Change one half stop, try the bed, then decide.

Done

Right (smaller number) for less lift, left (larger number) for more. Both sides equal.

Step 24. Even the gaps

Close the bed and look at the gap round the face. If it is wider on one side than the other, push or gently kick the bottom of the cabinet on the side with the narrowest gap until they match.

Last, run your baseboard back up to the outside of each cabinet side.

CheckOpen and close the bed three or four times. It should run smoothly and stop flush every time.

Done

The finished bed, shut.

After

If something is not right

The gas spring will not push in by hand. Is it stuck?

No. Each spring holds a lot of pressure and cannot be pushed in by hand. Fit them the way Step 18 describes, with the bed tipped back past shut so the springs are at full length.

The bed is very hard to pull down and wants to spring shut.

It has too much lift for your mattress. Turn both lower plates' hex heads to the right, toward a smaller number, a half stop at a time (Step 23).

The face hangs out of the cabinet when the bed is shut.

Turn both lower plates' hex heads to the right, toward a smaller number. Small turns make big differences; keep both sides equal.

The gap round the face is uneven.

Push or gently kick the bottom of the cabinet on the side with the narrowest gap (Step 24).

A connector will not pull its joint tight.

Back it out, check nothing is caught in the joint, and drive it again with the clutch set low. If the hole is stripped, call us.

Changing a gas spring

CarefulNever take a spring off with the bed open, and never any other way than this.

Take the mattress off. With the bed shut, take out the wall screws. Never take them out with the bed open.
Move the cabinet 2 to 3 feet out from the wall.
With your helper holding the cabinet, pull the bed out 4 to 5 inches and, from behind, take out the bed stops.
Still holding the cabinet, let the bed go back into the cabinet about 3" past shut. The springs are now at full length with no load on them.
Change the springs one at a time. With a flat-head screwdriver, gently lift the clip on the spring's socket (lift it, do not take it off) and pull the socket off its ball. Do both ends.
Snap the new spring onto the bed's ball first, then the cabinet's, turned the way its label says.
Repeat on the other side, refit the bed stops, push the cabinet back to the wall and screw it to the studs again before the bed is opened.

Looking after it

A week after you build it, and every few months after that, check that the wall screws and connectors are tight and both E-clips are on their pivots. Keep the mattress straps on.